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Los Angeles Lakers rookie Talen Horton-Tucker only logged two appearances this season prior to the season shut down but certainly made the most of his third opportunity on Thursday night.
Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 10 points, four steals, two rebounds and one assist during the 113-97 loss to the Houston Rockets. He shot 4-of-6 from the field in 19 minutes off of the bench and, perhaps most importantly, earned high praise afterward from head coach Frank Vogel.
He continues to surprise and impress me and he’s making a case for being in the rotation with just the way he’s performed this whole restart. Obviously, he had great growth in our G League program this year and has really come along. He played really strong, looked really comfortable against a very good team tonight, and continues to make a case.
Horton-Tucker spent much of the season with the South Bay Lakers in the G League, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and four assists in 38 games played. As Vogel eluded to, he has shown immense improvement throughout the year and that was on display in the loss.
The Lakers have battled through several injuries in the restart and are also toying around with different lineups, which created the opportunity for Horton-Tucker on Thursday. He has emerged as a versatile player and could play a role off of the bench in the postseason.
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